Chapter 18
John’s boss, Mark Penning, the head of the marine biology department at the university, called John into his office as soon as he heard about the fireball incident, which was less than an hour after Gladrielle made her appearance.
Mark was the guy that we were having dinner with when Elvis vamp appeared, insisting that Titus needed to see me. He was about what you’d expect the head of a college department to look like, a man in his mid fifties with thinning brown hair, a pot belly, and a rumpled suit.
I waited in the hallway outside his office, but used my supernatural hearing to listen to what was being said behind the closed door.
“I heard about the fireballs,” Mark said.
“I suspect everyone has,” John said. “Rumors travel fast on a college campus.”
“Especially when they involve a fireball throwing elf.”
“It is something you don’t see everyday.”
“You want to tell me about it,” Mark said.
“Not much to tell. A deranged elf appeared and tossed a few fireballs at me. The cops arrived and she left.”
“Why was she throwing fireballs at you?”
“Apparently, Low did something that upset her.”
“You mean your girlfriend. The mermaid.”
John didn’t say anything, but I suspect he nodded.
“I understand why you like her,” Mark said. “She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met. That being said, are you sure being involved with her is a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“She seems to be involved with some, I’m not sure how to put this, highly questionable individuals. There was that vampire that showed up while we were eating dinner, now we have this incident.”
“She’s a private detective, being involved with highly questionable individuals is part of the job.”
“Maybe she should find a new line of work.”
“You do know that she used to be a cop. Rose to the rank of detective faster than anyone in the history of the department. She left the force having received more commendations than any other officer in history. What’s more, she did it all before she turned thirty. So do I think being involved with the most decorated police officer in the history of this city is a good idea. Yeah. I think it’s a very good idea.
“It’s people like her that ensure people like you and I can hold our little wine and cheese parties without having to worry about our safety. Now if you, or the dean, or the president of the university, want to make an issue out of this, then that’s fine with me. Let’s take this issue to the media, who do you think the public is going to side with? You or us? And don’t forget. This is a public institution. Taxpayer dollars pay our salaries.”
I almost cheered, then I remembered that this was supposed to be a private conversation. Was what he said true? Yeah. It was. I kept some of those commendations in frames, hanging on a wall in my living room. Not because they meant a lot to me, but because they made my clients feel better. Especially my human clients.
A lot of them were reluctant to hire a girl to do what they considered to be dirty work. I tried to explain that I wasn’t a girl, I was a mermaid. That always seemed to fall on deaf ears, so I just started inviting them to punch me in the stomach. Most refused. The few that did punch me usually wound up with a broken hand. Not that they seemed to mind since each and every one of them hired me.
“Point taken,” Mark said. “I’m just concerned about the safety of our students.”
“This isn’t the first time somebody that wanted to get to Low came after me,” John said. “And it probably won’t be the last. The good news is, that was my only class today. And tomorrow, I’m going on that explorer cruise with my graduate students. Hopefully, Low’s issues with the elf will be resolved by the time we get back.”
“Sounds like being a detective is a dirty business.”
“It can be, especially when you deal with supernaturals. They don’t think like you or I, nor do they follow the same rules.”
I tuned out the rest of their conversation. Mostly because the conflict was over and they were just making small talk. Besides, John had already made it clear that he wasn’t going to dump me just to save his job.
Was I surprised by that? Yes. And no. I was surprised that someone was willing to sacrifice their career for me, but I wasn’t surprised that John would do it. John was a jock, ex-jock. He loved competing, and when someone pushed him, he pushed back. Sometimes without thinking about what he was doing.
Although, after listening to his argument, it was pretty clear that he was thinking when he told Mark why he wasn’t going to break up with me.
The door to Mark’s office opened and John stepped out, followed by Mark.
“I see you’re still here,” Mark said to me.
“The fireball throwing elf is mad at me,” I said. “Wants to make me suffer. She thinks the best way to do that is by going after the people I care about. As such, I figure it’s best to keep an eye on John until he’s beyond her reach.”
“Can I ask why she’s mad at you?”
“I killed a vampire. Actually, he was the world’s oldest vampire. I guess the elf and him had a relationship, a long long time ago.”
“You killed a vampire?”
“Took him to the bottom of the ocean, to what submariners call crush depth. The ocean did the rest.” I smacked Mark on the side of his arm, maybe a little too hard since I practically knocked him off his feet. “If you want, the next time I do that, I can take a camera with me. Film it. Might be educational, to let your students see what happens to a vamp when they reach crush depth.”
I know. I was being a smart ass. But the guy called John into his office to tell him that it was in his best interests to dump me. You do that. You try to convince the only boyfriend I’ve ever had, may ever have, that he should dump me, and you move right to the top of my shit list.
“I suspect some of our students would love to see that,” Mark said. “Although I’m not sure it would be appropriate.”
He turned and disappeared into his office, rubbing his arm.
“He thinks I’m inappropriate company.”
John dismissed Mark with a wave of his hand. “He’s an academic, spent his entire life on a college campus. The ironic thing is, his job is to prepare students for a world that he knows nothing about. A world he’s spent his entire life avoiding.”
“He’s not wrong you know. If you weren’t involved with me, you wouldn’t have to worry about bogeymen kidnapping you, or elves throwing fireballs at you.”
“And then my life would be as boring as Mark’s. I might be working as an academic, but that doesn’t mean I have to live like one.”
“I’m just saying if you want to end this, I”ll understand why.”
John took my hand in his and held it as we walked down the hall. “Nice try but you’re not getting rid of me that easily. You want to dump me, you’re going to have to give me one of those --I’ve met somebody else--speeches.”
“I think we both know that’s not going to happen. Most guys run the other way when they discover that I can bench press their car.”
“Maybe you need a secret identity. Like all those superheros you see in the movies.”
“That would involve wearing dark glasses twenty-four seven.” It was my eyes that always gave me away, told people that I wasn’t human. Mermaid eyes are bigger and brighter than human eyes. And in my case, greener.
We headed downstairs, still holding hands, which I found touching. John was the only man I knew that wanted to hold my hand. There were plenty of men that wanted to hold other parts of my body, but none of them had ever wanted to hold my hand.
“What now?” John said.
“Now we find a place to hide you, where Gladrielle and her big nose can’t find you.”
“I have a friend who owns a sailboat. It’s not a big boat, but it does have a bed big enough for two. We could put t
o sea, spend the night there.”
“Spending the night at sea sounds perfect.” Suddenly, I was in the mood to share a bed, although I’m not sure why. Maybe it was the fact that John stood up for me. Maybe it was the fact that he liked holding my hand. Maybe it was all of the above.